New Hope Research Facility
The New Hope Research Facility, also known as the New Hope Wellness FacilityGears of War 2 Collectible: Captivity Marks and called New Hope for short, disguised as the Jameson Shipping Depot, was a classified COG research facility that was funded by the Department of Health under the supervision of Dr. Niles Samson during the time Monroe administration. The facility was opened to house and study the children of Imulsion miners infected with Rustlung in order to create a cure for the disease. When it came to light that Niles Samson was performing unethical experimentation on the children by mutating them with the DNA of indigenous creatures of the Hollow, transforming them into Sires, the facility was shutdown by Chairman Monroe, and all involved were to be indicted. However, Niles Samson, along with many of his subjects and loyal employees disappeared. The New Hope Research Facility was then shutdown. Before disappearing, Niles Samson left behind a semi-sentient security system based off his personality to protect the facility. The Coalition of Ordered Governments then classified all data relating to New Hope and the research there. Any information was only delegated from former Chairman to succeeding Chairman, with the only task of keeping the facility quarantined and classified. The facility was only ever declassified in 1st Frost, 14 A.E. by Chairman Richard Prescott, and believed that the information at the New Hope facility could lead to the location of the Locust Horde's stronghold, Nexus, during Operation: Hollow Storm. It was revealed that Niles Samson was escorted by a Fringe COG Party to continue his work in Mount Kadar and created the Locust Horde from the Sires. The Locust Horde then created Nexus within the caverns of Mount Kadar. Following the end of the Locust War and the Lambent Pandemic, the newly-restored COG under its First Ministers placed guards at New Hope and tried to keep it a secret. In 42 A.E., Kait Diaz and Delmont Walker returned to the facility in search of answers about the Locust and Kait's connection to it. After being badly damaged by a Swarm Flock, the guarding AI activated a chemical purge of the facility, though the structure itself appeared to survive. History Curing Rustlung In the early Pendulum-era, the miners of Imulsion and their families began to suffer from a condition known as Rustlung, one of the first stages of Lambency. The Coalition of Ordered Governments, wanting to capitalize on Imulsion and not face reparations for its health effects, commissioned the New Hope Research Facility under the Department of Health. Built to be disguised as Jameson Depot, the facility was built to house the infected as prisoners and attempt to find a cure. The Director of New Hope was Doctor Niles Samson. He believed the only way to cure Rustlung was through genetic experimentation. These experiments horribly mutated the subjects, or as he called them, "Sires", and their children. As the research progressed, Niles did not see he was creating monsters, but humans who had a "survival advantage." However, other staff members became concerned about their research, especially after some of the staff members were attacked by the subjects, who adopted hostile and even sadistic behavior. Niles, however, persisted with his research, disregarding their violent nature and even sympathized with them. Eventually, in fear of the truth about the health risks of Imulsion exposure becoming known following information leaks and staff departure, Chairman Monroe shut down the facility. Niles left the Sires in stasis and was forced to take his subjects, the first generation Locust, to Mount Kadar, later leading to the construction of Nexus. Before leaving though, Niles left the entire facility under the guard of an AI he programmed his personality into to guard the Sires so they could be later observed as they grew. The research facility was abandoned after Niles took the test subjects to Mount Kadar, and all information regarding Rustlung, the Sires, the "children", and their work at New Hope were all classified. These files were passed down to every Chairman when elected into office, but they lack the in-depth knowledge of the facility and are charged with keeping the facility closed. Declassification Nearly a century later, the Locust Horde emerged and attacked the surface of Sera. In 14 A.E., the Locust Horde began using a Riftworm to sink the cities of Tollen and Montevado in order to sink Jacinto and flood the Hollow, killing the Lambent. In response, the Coalition launched Operation: Hollow Storm in order to locate the Locust stronghold and neutralizing their leader, ending the war once and for all. During the first wave of Hollow Storm, Delta-One was able to locate the Riftworm and kill it following the sinking of Ilima, but the COG ultimately failed in locating the Locust stronghold. Due to being unable to find the Locust stronghold, Chairman Richard Prescott ultimately declassified the intel file on the New Hope Research Facility, believing that wherever Niles took the "children" is surely where the Locust stronghold and Queen are located. Delta Squad was sent to search for any clues to the Locust capital; however, all previous activities and details remained classified, and even Control was kept in the dark regarding the reconnaissance mission. Even Victor Hoffman, the highest-ranking military officer, knew nothing more of the place beyond its location. .]] Upon arrival, Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago entered the facility while Augustus Cole and Damon Baird guarded the Centaur Tank that Delta were using as transport. Inside, Marcus and Dom encountered an armored security door overlooked by the AI system modeled after Niles. After blasting the door open with a charge, they proceeded to navigate New Hope's extensive security network. Marcus and Dom located the stasis area holding the Sires and hacked the network, recovering information left by Niles Samson about relocating the subjects to Mount Kadar. The recording is interrupted because an unintentional result of Delta hacking the network is the Sires are awakened from stasis. These creatures break out of the tanks and attack the Gears, who have to fight their way out and then shut down the Niles AI because it threatens them for attacking the Sires. Marcus and Dom then attempt to leave the facility when Locust Drones and Boomers suddenly attack the facility. Marcus and Dom fight through the remainder of the facility and rendezvous with Baird and Cole, leaving the facility and driving towards Mount Kadar. The intel proved correct as the Locust capital, Nexus, was situated under Mount Kadar, as well as the Locust Queen, Myrrah. Delta Squad was able to activate the beacon and start the second wave of Operation: Hollow Storm in the actual Locust stronghold. Return to New Hope The operation was a success and Nexus was destroyed in the flooding following the sinking of Jacinto by the COG. Both the Locust and Lambent drowned. In the following two years, the Lambent spread on the surface, but was ultimately destroyed by Adam Fenix's weapon. However, the device did not kill the Locust but instead forced the Locust into evolution as they became cocooned in an impenetrable crystalline shell. According to Marcus Fenix, every First Minister of the restored COG knew of New Hope, but instead of investigating it more, they all did the same thing: posted guards and tried to keep it a secret.Gears 5: Forest for the Trees By 42 A.E., the Locust erupted from their cocoons and evolved into the Swarm. The Swarm began rebuilding their army by capturing humans and turning them into soldiers. The leader of the Swarm, the Speaker, led an attack on the Outsiders of Fort Umson and captured their leader, Reyna Diaz. They attached Reyna to their network, but she was later found by her daughter, Kait Diaz, and was euthanized. Reyna left her with her amulet, which is also the symbol of the Locust Horde. Shortly after her mother's death, Kait began having visions and nightmares of the Swarm and Queen Myrrah. She became more aggressive and feared that something was happening to her. After the attack on Riftworm Village, Marcus advised Kait to journey to the New Hope Research Facility where she could discover what's happening to her by learning the origins of the Locust Horde. Once she and friend, Delmont Walker, arrived at the New Hope Research Facility, the building was nearly in ruins and filled with snow and with the guarding DeeBees corrupted by the Swarm. At the vault entrance, Kait and Del encountered a Scion guarding the facility, Warden. After destroying the Warden, the two found that New Hope was being transformed into a Swarm Hive and fought off a Swarm Flock as they tried to find the lab, eventually making their way into the prison area which Marcus had never encountered on his journey there. Marcus guided the two through the facility, informing them of what he had learned about the experiments that had been run there. The two eventually found the mainframe for the Niles AI and reactivated it. However, the AI had badly degraded over the years and most of its files were corrupted. JACK was able to find several that mentioned the name "Kadar" which Marcus recognized and had Damon Baird take a look. However, a Swarm Flock attacked the Niles AI which took it as a sign of the final cleansing beginning. As the AI was destroyed, it activated a chemical purge of the facility using tanks Kait and Del found while making their way through it. Fighting through Swarm forces, the two were able to escape outside while the data recovered from the AI directed them to the Mount Kadar Laboratory. The Building Because New Hope Research Facility operated under the guise of Jameson Depot,Gears of War 2: Act 3: Gathering Storm the perimeter of the building was set up to look and operate like a warehouse. However, with proper clearance, the depths of the Facility could be reached. The building itself housed various laboratories and research offices, scattered throughout a maze of hallways. However, the entire area is guarded by numerous automated turrets and flamethrowers that lock onto targets and will shoot until the target is dead or out of range. Most of these weapons have a manual override, which can deactivate the security within that room. Almost every room and hallway has one of these automated weapons installed. Also as common as the turrets in the research area are monitors that Niles's AI Security system can communicate over, and possible see as well. In the heart of the Facility were living quarters built throughout an old train yard to hold the test subjects, along with metal canopies over walkways and throughout the front yard to serve as protection from bad weather such as Razorhail. At the back of the facility, there are stasis tanks and labs set up to keep the Sires in stasis. Also in the same area is the mainframe for the Niles Security System and the records of the research done at New Hope. Over time, after the building was abandoned, Wretches infested the warehouse and somehow invaded the outer research areas of the facility as well. Also in the front areas of the facility are mauled corpses, including a dead Locust Drone.Gears of War 2: Act 3: Gathering Storm: Origins Documents of the New Hope Research Facility 'Interoffice Memo' To: All New Hope employees From: Director Niles Samson RE: Ways to Deal with Prying Questions As many of you know, we recently experienced an internal information leak, and this had led some media outlets to make inquiries of the Department of Heath. Should you ever be approached with questions by anyone from the media or from someone who is not an employee of New Hope, I trust that you will all refrain from disclosing any information about the facility or its patients. Please do keep this in mind moving forward, and continue with the great work that you all are doing. You are making the future a better place. Best, Niles''Gears of War 2 Collectible: Interoffice Memo'' 'Satos’ letter to Stephanie Zimmer' To: Stephanie Zimmer From: Doug Sato Subject: WTF?! Steph, we need to talk. Seriously. I'm worried about our safety. Niles keeps saying that the subjects are harmless under sedation, but I just saw Sven get mauled by one of the males. Like ripped up, bloody mauled. This place isn't safe anymore. Maybe it never was. I'm already working on my resignation letter, you may want to as well. Doug 'New Hope Medical File' Patient Name: Ruth Age: 15 Symptoms: Ruth is clearly experiencing extreme swelling in her joints and frequently cries out in pain during the night. She also exhibits rather erratic and unpredictable behavior, though this is quite understandable considering her situation and symptoms. There is a strange discoloration in her eyes, and her breathing often sounds labored. Her nails grow at a faster rate than normal, though her hair grows at a markedly reduced rate. I'll keep trying to find some type of medication to alleviate her pain without adversely affecting our studies. Dr. Niles Samson 'Doctor's Journal' Dr. Stephanie Zimmer '' Doug was right. These things, these 'children,' as Niles likes to call them, are completely out of control. It's like working with rabid dogs, except they're much smarter, more conniving... and they're brutal. Sadistic even. It's like they were bred to kill and torture. These things are going to be the death of us all. This is my final entry. I'm getting the hell out of here. I hope this place burns to the ground. ''Dr. Zimmer. 'Captivity Marks' To: Control From: Delta-One We've found some marks on the walls of a cell in the New Hope Wellness Facility. Unclear whether they represent days, weeks, or months, but it's clear someone spent a long time here in captivity. Too long. Delta out. 'Intercepted Letter' Colonel Tolman, I apologize for the protocol breach of writing you directly, but I am praying that as a family friend you can help me with a desperate situation. When Command offered me a guard position at the New Hope Research Facility, they called it a career-making opportunity: a chance to support research that would cure Rustlung forever. But that's not what's happening here. I have been ordered to chain the ill to bed frames like prisoners, not patients. I have had to pin down screaming children while lab-coated men with needles tapped their blood and left them to shiver on the floor. Niles Samson isn't making a cure. He's making... things. I can't say what they are. No one can. But no good can come of it, I promise you. I beg you, Colonel: Talk to Chairman Monroe. Tell him people are suffering here. Tell him Dr. Samson's gone mad. I can't stand by and watch this any longer. Yours, Private Sid Redburn Intercepted in mailroom. Get Redburn OUT of here! ''-NS'' 'Sovereign Directive 10345' By virtue of the authority vested in me as Chairman of the Coalition of Ordered Governments, it is hereby ordered that all activities at the New Hope Research Facility are to be terminated, effective immediately. It is further ordered that all staff report to the House of Sovereigns, where they will stand trial and face judgment on the 13th of Bloom. As citizens of this Coalition, each of us made a pledge to conduct ourselves with honor, and to observe principles of loyalty and purity, as it was decreed by the Allfathers. I know no greater impurity than what has been conceived within the walls of New Hope, and no act more dishonorable than what is effectively the imprisonment and torture of children. Furthermore, the untruths told by Dr. Niles Samson and his team to protect themselves and their efforts from scrutiny indicate disloyalty of the greatest severity. Dr. Niles Samson, you have forsaken your responsibility to society, and so your society must forsake you. CHAIRMAN MONROE THE HOUSE OF SOVEREIGNS 'Patient Analysis: AX-331-2' Prior to loss of speech, the subject complained frequently about joint and lung pain, as well as agonizing headaches. Subject's exposure to Imulsion was severe even before testing began. Once Rustlung had metastasized throughout the Subject's body, death came quickly. Imulsion's effects lead to intense and immediate cell stress. But other cells undergo point mutations that could be considered beneficial. Studies will continue. Dr. Niles Samson 'Patient Analysis: EV-184-9' EV-184-9 has been exposed to Imulsion levels hitherto known - without exception - to be fatal. Yet she displays no detectable cellular degradation at all. Quite the opposite, if anything. We have decided to isolate and observe EV-184-9 closely, twenty-six hours a day, while continuing to administer a daily dose of concentrated Imulsion. We tell her it's her medicine and she smiles while she takes it. She is quite eager to be helpful. Dr. Niles Samson 'Patient Analysis: RK-619-4' RK-619-4's final transformation occurred roughly eighteen hours before death. Quite disappointing, as the subject's cells had initially benefited from Imulsion exposure nearly as much as Subject EV-184-9's. It is time to face a hard truth. EV-184-9's response to Imulsion exposure may be entirely anomalous. And Dr. Torres has just informed me that EV-184-9's T cells appear to be particularly responsive. He believes her body is now aging at a pace roughly half that of a normal girl. Dr. Niles Samson 'Timeworn Data Drive' There is a message hidden on the drive that Jack has decrypted: Dr. Samson, I represent a concerned party within Chairman Monroe's administration. We are uncolored by the messianic moralism our Chairman has consistently shown. Instead, we are pragmatists. In our view, the greatest kindness we can for Sera is bring the Pendulum Wars to a swift, decisive end. To achieve this goal, we are willing to provide you with aid and research. Unlike our Chairman, we are capable of imagination - of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, as it were. Your work has too much potential to squander. Preparations are now underway to relocate your research to a new location, safely distant from eyes that may pry. Monroe has spies everywhere. We will speak with you again soon. Known Occupants Employees *Dr. Niles Samson *Dr. Torres *Dr. Van Neil *Dr. Stephanie Zimmer *Dr. Doug Sato *Pvt. Sid Redburn *Sven Patients *AX-331-2 *Myrrah *Ruth *RK-619-4 Gallery Gears 5 New Hope entrance2.jpg Newhopelobby.jpg Newhopehallway1.jpg Newhopehallway2.jpg Newhopesiretanks.jpg Newhopeautopsy.jpg Newhopeai.jpg Newhopeoffices.jpg Behind the scenes *The multiplayer maps Security and Stasis are both loosely based on New Hope. Appearances *''The Slab'' *''Gears of War 2'' *''Gears 5'' References Category:COG Category:Medical facilities